Kong Empire

Kong Empire Kong Empire
1710–1898
West Africa in the late 18th century
Capital	Kong
Common languages	Dyula, Senufo
Religion	Islam, Fetishism
Historical era	Pre-Colonial Africa
• Founding of Kong dynasty by Seku Wattara	1710
• Burning of Kong by Samori Ture	1898
Today part of	Ivory Coast Burkina Faso

The Kong Empire (1710–1898), also known as the Wattara Empire or Ouattara Empire for its founder, was a pre-colonial African Muslim state centered in northeastern Ivory Coast that also encompassed much of present-day Burkina Faso. It was founded by Dyula immigrants from the declining Mali Empire. It established a largely decentralized commercial empire based upon linkages by merchant houses protecting trade routes throughout the region. Kong rose to prominence in the 1800s as a key commercial center and center of Islamic studies. In 1898, Samori Ture attacked the city and burnt it down. Although the city was rebuilt, the Kong empire had dissipated and the French took control over the area.